scholarly journals Multistep concentration of lizardite/antigorite from chrysotile mine tailings – case of the Carey Mine site in East-Broughton (Québec)

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dieudonné Kabombo ◽  
Dariush Azizi ◽  
Réjean Hébert ◽  
Faïçal Larachi
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Separation ◽  
Mine Tailings ◽  
Mine Waste ◽  
Size Fraction ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Magnetic Minerals ◽  
Mine Site ◽  
Asbestos Fibers ◽  
The Government ◽  
Mining Residues

Abstract Revalorization of mining residues is of central concerns to the mining industry and the environment. Specifically, environmental management of residual products from the exploitation of chrysotile in the Thetford Mines region is one of the government concerns in Quebec and Canada. This work uses mining wastes in a second resource generation for production of magnesium from cheap and health-friendly mineral sources; the goal being to produce chrysotile-depleted pre-concentrates for a use as precursors in the leach off extraction of magnesium. The concentration of lizardite/antigorite from chrysotile containing serpentine rock mine tailings originating from the Carey Mine site in East-Broughton (Québec) was carried out using a suite of hydrocyclone, settling/decantation and magnetic separations. Four size classes of the mining residue, namely (−3150,+1580), (−1580, +600), (−600, +300) and (−300, +150) μm, were tested with an aim to reduce the level of objectionable asbestos fibers to allow access to the safer Mg-bearing minerals contained in the mine waste sources. The asbestos fibers clean-up consisted of subjecting the sieved fractions to two hydrocyclone steps, six settling/decantation steps and two magnetic separation steps. The best results were achieved when the hydrocyclone separators led to Mg recovery of 85% (±4) for the coarsest size fraction size. Both hydrocyclone underflow streams underwent settling/decantation separations. The settling tests lasted 30 min and led to Mg recoveries of 82.5% (±1.8) of Mg in the ultimate concentrate. SEM characterizations revealed that it was possible to reduce substantially the amount of chrysotile fibers to render the coarse-sized fraction in the mining waste usable while significantly lowering the health risk of the fibers. A two-step magnetic separation was applied to the final settling/decantation underflow to remove magnetic minerals such as magnetite from the lizardite/antigorite concentrate. The final quasi-non-magnetic chrysotile-depleted lizardite/antigorite concentrate allowed sample recovery of 62.5% (±0.9) wt. of Mg. These preliminary results are intended as a first compulsory step in support of viable restoration and sustainable development scenarios for the Thetford Mines mining sites as second-breath sources for valuable magnesium.

scholarly journals Opportunities for Mineral Carbonation in Australia’s Mining Industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehdi Azadi ◽  
Mansour Edraki ◽  
Faezeh Farhang ◽  
Jiwhan Ahn
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Mine Tailings ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Mineral Carbonation ◽  
Power Station ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Mine Site

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) via mineral carbonation is an effective method for long-term storage of carbon dioxide and combating climate change. Implemented at a large-scale, it provides a viable solution to harvesting and storing the modern crisis of GHGs emissions. To date, technological and economic barriers have inhibited broad-scale utilisation of mineral carbonation at industrial scales. This paper outlines the mineral carbonation process; discusses drivers and barriers of mineral carbonation deployment in Australian mining; and, finally, proposes a unique approach to commercially viable CCUS within the Australian mining industry by integrating mine waste management with mine site rehabilitation, and leveraging relationships with local coal-fired power station. This paper discusses using alkaline mine and coal-fired power station waste (fly ash, red mud, and ultramafic mine tailings, i.e., nickel, diamond, PGE (platinum group elements), and legacy asbestos mine tailings) as the feedstock for CCUS to produce environmentally benign materials, which can be used in mine reclamation. Geographical proximity of mining operations, mining waste storage facilities and coal-fired power stations in Australia are identified; and possible synergies between them are discussed. This paper demonstrates that large-scale alkaline waste production and mine site reclamation can become integrated to mechanise CCUS. Furthermore, financial liabilities associated with such waste management and site reclamation could overcome many of the current economic setbacks of retrofitting CCUS in the mining industry. An improved approach to commercially viable climate change mitigation strategies available to the mining industry is reviewed in this paper.

scholarly journals Water, mining, and waste: An historical and economic perspective on conflict management in South Africa

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca A. Adler ◽  
Marius Claassen ◽  
Linda Godfrey ◽  
Anthony R. Turton
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Mine Waste ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Safe Environment ◽  
Mine Water Management ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right ◽  
Simple Economic

Lack of government intervention in South Africa's mining industry has worsened conflicts associated with limited water resources. With the advent of democracy, new legislation demands that all South African citizens have the right to a clean, safe environment, including access to potable water, and that the country develop in a sustainable manner. But conflict remains due to the historical partnership between the government and the mining industry, as well as due to cumulative impacts associated with mining, which has polluted natural ground water sources. In this article, an historical overview of the mining industry in South Africa is presented, along with a simple economic model to describe behavior of the mining industry over time. Legislative frameworks used to address mine waste and mine water management are evaluated and suggestions are made for how to use an understanding of resource driven conflict to improve the outlook of mining and access to water for all in South Africa.

scholarly journals Processing Tests, Adjusted Cost Models and the Economies of Reprocessing Copper Mine Tailings in Chile

Metals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 103
Author(s):  
Malte Drobe ◽  
Frank Haubrich ◽  
Mariano Gajardo ◽  
Herwig Marbler
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Separation ◽  
Mine Tailings ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Cost Models ◽  
Copper Mine ◽  
Copper Mine Tailings ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Assessment Standard ◽  
Mining Residues

To increase resource efficiency, mining residues–especially tailings–have come into the focus of research, companies, and politics. Tailings still contain varying amounts of unextracted elements of value and minerals that were not of economic interest during production. As for primary mineral deposits, only a small share of tailings offers the possibility for an economic reprocessing. To minimize exploration expenditure, a stepwise process is followed during exploration, to estimate the likelihood of a project to become a mine or in this case a reprocessing facility. During this process, costs are continuously estimated at least in an order of magnitude. Reprocessing flowsheets for copper mine tailings in Chile were developed and costs and revenues of possible products from reprocessing were examined for a rough economic assessment. Standard cost models with capex and opex for flotation, leaching, and magnetic separation were adopted to the needs of tailings reprocessing. A copper tailing (around 2 M t) that also contains magnetite was chosen as a case study. A combination of magnetic separation and leaching gave the best economic results for copper and magnetite. The adopted cost models showed positive results at this early stage of investigation (semi-technical scale processing tests).

Enrichment of a Nigerian chromite ore for metallurgical application by dense medium flotation and magnetic separation

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuranga Ibrahim Ayinla ◽  
Alafara Abdullahi Baba ◽  
Bankim Chandra Tripathy ◽  
Malay Kumar Ghosh ◽  
Rajan Kumar Dwari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Magnetic Separation ◽  
Organic Liquid ◽  
Size Fraction ◽  
Dense Medium ◽  
Chromium Alloy ◽  
Magnetic Separator ◽  
Electro Deposition ◽  
Chromite Ore ◽  
Wet Chemical

This study, focused on the beneficiation of a Nigerian complex chromite ore sourced from Tunga-Kaduka, Anka Local Government of Zamfara State, Nigeria, assaying 45.85% Cr2O4 and 54.15% mineral impurities, was enriched concurrently through sink floatation and magnetic separation techniques. The chromite ore initially analyzed to contain silicate impurities was found not suitable for metallurgical purposes. Thus, enrichment was examined through gravity separation studies using organic liquid with different specific gravities at 2.8, 3.3, and 4.0. The separation of chromite ore with lowest particle size fraction was done using Mozley mineral separator followed by the magnetic separation of the sink product by magnetic separator. The results obtained revealed about 77% of the total material containing 300 μm particle size, 52% ˂ 212 μm and 17% below 75 μm. Subsequent analysis of the beneficiated ore was carried out by wet chemical analysis and atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results showed that Cr2O4 content increased to 78.34% from initial 45.83% with maximum Cr:Fe ratio of 3.2:1, representing 84.27% of chromium metal present in the ore. The enrichment of Cr2O4 obtained in this study could be found metallurgically applicable in the electro-deposition and ferro-chromium alloy production practices.

scholarly journals Mining Industry Impact on Environmental Sustainability, Economic Growth, Social Interaction, and Public Health: An Application of Semi-Quantitative Mathematical Approach

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 972
Author(s):  
Muhammad Mohsin ◽  
Qiang Zhu ◽  
Sobia Naseem ◽  
Muddassar Sarfraz ◽  
Larisa Ivascu
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Energy Source ◽  
Coal Mining ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Provincial Government ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
The Government ◽  
Operational Activities

The mining industry plays a significant role in economic growth and development. Coal is a viable renewable energy source with 185.175 billion deposits in Thar, which has not been deeply explored. Although coal is an energy source and contributes to economic development, it puts pressure on environmental sustainability. The current study investigates Sindh Engro coal mining’s impact on environmental sustainability and human needs and interest. The Folchi and Phillips Environmental Sustainability Mathematics models are employed to measure environmental sustainability. The research findings demonstrated that Sindh Engro coal mining is potentially unsustainable for the environment. The toxic gases (methane, carbon dioxide, sulfur, etc.) are released during operational activities. The four significant environment spheres (atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere) are negatively influenced by Thar coal mining. The second part of the analysis results shows that human needs and interests have a positive and significant relationship except for human health and safety with Sindh Engro coal mining. Environmental pollution can be controlled by utilizing environmentally friendly coal mining operations and technologies. Plantation and ecological normalization can protect the species, flora, and fauna of the Thar Desert. The government of Pakistan and the provincial government of Sind should strictly check the adaptation of environmental standards. Furthermore, the researchers should explore the environmental issues and solutions so that coal mining becomes a cost-efficient and environmental-friendly energy source in Pakistan.

scholarly journals Potential Use of Organic- and Hard-Rock Mine Wastes on Aided Phytostabilization of Large-Scale Mine Tailings under Semiarid Mediterranean Climatic Conditions: Short-Term Field Study

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Santibañez ◽  
Luz María de la Fuente ◽  
Elena Bustamante ◽  
Sergio Silva ◽  
Pedro León-Lobos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mine Tailings ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Hard Rock ◽  
Mine Waste ◽  
Organic Amendments ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Goat Manure ◽  
Site Rehabilitation

The study evaluated the efficacy of organic- and hard-rock mine waste type materials on aided phytostabilization of Cu mine tailings under semiarid Mediterranean conditions in order to promote integrated waste management practices at local levels and to rehabilitate large-scale (from 300 to 3,000 ha) postoperative tailings storage facilities (TSFs). A field trial with 13 treatments was established on a TSF to test the efficacy of six waste-type locally available amendments (grape and olive residues, biosolids, goat manure, sediments from irrigation canals, and rubble from Cu-oxide lixiviation piles) during early phases of site rehabilitation. Results showed that, even though an interesting range of waste-type materials were tested, biosolids (100 t ha-1dry weight, d.w.) and grape residues (200 t ha-1d.w.), either alone or mixed, were the most suitable organic amendments when incorporated into tailings to a depth of 20 cm. Incorporation of both rubble from Cu-oxide lixiviation piles and goat manure into upper tailings also had effective results. All these treatments improved chemical and microbiological properties of tailings and lead to a significant increase in plant yield after three years from trial establishment. Longer-term evaluations are, however required to evaluate self sustainability of created systems without further incorporation of amendments.

Determination of the concentration of asbestos minerals in highly contaminated mine tailings: An example from abandoned mine waste of Cretaz and Emarese (Valle d'Aosta, Italy)

2014 ◽  
Vol 99 (7) ◽  
pp. 1233-1247 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. Gualtieri ◽  
S. Pollastri ◽  
N. B. Gandolfi ◽  
F. Ronchetti ◽  
C. Albonico ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mine Tailings ◽  
Mine Waste ◽  
Abandoned Mine

Mine waste reuse and reprocessing: an important step for the implementation of the circular economy in Europe

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Françoise Bodénan ◽  
Yannick Ménard ◽  
Patrick d'Hugues
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Mine Waste ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Mining Waste ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Secondary Resources ◽  
Mineral Fraction ◽  
Long Term Treatment

<p>Whereas there are growing needs for mineral resources (metals for the energy and digital transitions<br>and construction materials), the mining industry must produce them from poorer, more<br>heterogeneous and more complex deposits. Therefore, volumes of mine waste produced (including<br>tailings) are also increasing and add up to waste from mining legacy. For example in Europe (x27): 732<br>Mtons of extractive waste are generated per year and more than 1.2 Btons of legacy waste are stored<br>all over the European territory. The localisation (and potential hazards) are well known and covered<br>by the inventories carried out in EU countries under the Mining Waste Directive.<br>At the same time, Europe is implementing the circular economy approach and put a lot of emphasis<br>on the resource efficiency concept. In this context, reprocessing operation to recover both metals and<br>mineral fraction is studied with the objective of combing waste management (reducing final waste<br>storage and long-term impact) and material production from secondary resources.<br>Numerous industrial experiences of reprocessing of mine waste and tailings exist all over the world to<br>recover metals such as copper, gold or critical raw materials - CRM They concern mainly active mine<br>where both primary and secondary resources are considered in profitable operations; for example in<br>Chile, South Africa, Australia. Mineral fraction recovery is often not considered which still leaves the<br>industry with a high volume of residual minerals to store and manage.<br>In addition, legacy mining waste are potentially available for reprocessing. In this case, numerous<br>mining liabilities issues need to be managed. Some of the European legacy mining waste have residual<br>valuable metals that could be recovered but some of them have very low metal contents. In Europe,<br>classical rehabilitation operations – usually at the charge of member states and local authorities – is<br>the priority and concern the reduction of instabilities and impacts to the environment including heap<br>remodelling, covering and water management with long-term treatment. Completing this risk<br>management approach by a circular economy one is a very active R&D subject in EU27.<br>This presentation will give an overview of EU research projects which tackled the legacy mining waste<br>challenge from inventory to process development. Several process flowsheets to recover metals were<br>designed and tested on several case studies with CRM – REE, Co, W, Sb, etc. Initiatives to reuse mineral<br>fraction are also underway and should be ready for commercialisation in the coming years.<br>Resources efficiency concept and the circular economy implementation starts on mining sites. In order<br>to facilitate the implementation of this approach, the technical solutions will need to be included in<br>innovative global initiatives covering also legal (liability management), environmental (Life Cycle<br>Analysis approaches) and social (acceptance) questions.</p>

Challenges in the sampling and characterisation of mining residues for CRMs recovery

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Guatame-Garcia ◽  
Mike Buxton ◽  
Sara Kasmaee ◽  
Francesco Tinti ◽  
Rachel Horta Arduin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Mine Waste ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Round Table ◽  
Secondary Source ◽  
Mine Wastes ◽  
Analytical Instruments ◽  
Successful Recovery ◽  
Mining Residues

<p>The recent Circular Economy Action Plan for Europe<sup>1</sup> considers mine waste a secondary source of minerals. These deposits contain potentially economic concentrations of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs), such as Al, Li, Co and REE, which are strategic for the global economy and energy transition. However, there are significant knowledge and technological gaps that hinder their successful recovery. The INCO-Piles 2020 project<sup>2</sup> is currently working on the recapitulation, establishment and development of innovative technologies for the sustainable extraction of CRMs from the residuals of mining activities, focusing on Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) strategic areas. The project includes the definition of potential applications, best practices, and the promotion of technology transfer through round tables that count with international experts' participation.</p><p>The first Round Table, a hybrid event held in December 2020 with 73 experts from 23 countries, addressed the challenges in recovering CRMs from tailings. The discussions were based on three topics: (1) challenges in sampling and characterisation from mining residue, (2) extraction and processing challenges, and (3) economic and environmental challenges. Regarding the first topic, one of the most significant issues is the inherent heterogeneity of mine waste deposits, which is a product of the mine processing and deposition methods, and the post-depositional weathering reactions. The lack of historical data, particularly for old deposits, hampers the understanding of such processes. A second challenge concerns the specific type of information required for assessing the CRMs potential. Representative geochemical and mineralogical data must be collected and interpreted at different scales (i.e., from individual minerals to tens of meters tall waste rock piles and tailings). The collection of representative samples faces issues related to the accessibility to the mine waste sites, the coverage and the sample contamination (i.e., material mixing) related to sample recovery methods. The scalability can be addressed by a combination of laboratory analyses, in-the-field surveys and remote sensing techniques. Current innovations in the combination of modern analytical instruments for geochemistry and mineralogy (e.g., pXRF, LIBS and portable infrared spectrometers) and the implementation of machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques will contribute to closing the knowledge and technology gaps.</p><p>Lastly, the discussions included the potential hazards faced during the characterisation and re-intervention of old-sites. Well-known mine wastes issues related to human health, environment and license to operate that can hinder a characterisation campaign must be properly considered before the commencement of a CRMs recovery project. The participants also identified transversal challenges for the three discussion topics, such as the need for regulation and professionals with an appropriate background.</p><p>All the insights discussed during this First Round Table will serve as a baseline for defining the best practices for characterisation and sampling of CRMs in mine wastes and contributing to increasing the sustainability in the supply of mineral resources and improving old mining sites' environmental quality.    </p><div><br><div> <p><sup>1</sup> EU Circular Economy Action Plan https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/</p> </div> <div> <p><sup>2</sup> INCO-Piles is a two-year project funded by EIT RawMaterials. More information: https://site.unibo.it/inco-piles-2020/en</p> </div> </div>

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